الخميس، 10 فبراير 2011

Dortmund closing in on title

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Even if neither Borussia Dortmund players nor officials want to speak openly about the title, they might soon have to.

With 13 games to go, the run-away-leaders, who are on 51 points, have a 12 point advantage over Bayer Leverkusen, who in turn are two points ahead of surprise teams Hanover 96 and Mainz 05.

Defending champions Bayern Munich are fifth on 36 points.

A draw at home against Schalke last week on Friday gave the chasing pack a chance to make up some ground, but by Sunday, Dortmund had even managed to extend their lead as Leverkusen and Bayern slumped to defeats.

Dortmund are away to Kaiserslautern on Saturday and coach Juergen Klopp had some good news ahead of the match when captain Sebastian Kehl managed to come through an 80 minutes training match against Dortmund's reserve side unscathed.

The 30-year-old has not played first team football since September and his return would be a welcome boost for the league run-in.

Victory in Kaiserslautern would see Dortmund move even closer to a seventh German league championship and would - rather sooner than later - force the players and officials to use the C-word.

Bayer Leverkusen, who are chasing their first-ever German league title, are away to Eintracht Frankfurt in a match they can not afford to lose if they want to keep at least a bit of pressure on Dortmund.

Hanover, who are enjoying their best-ever season in the Bundesliga, are away to Werder Bremen in a northern Germany derby on Sunday.

Their opponents, in contrast, are having a dismal season and are dangerously close to the relegation zone. They managed a last-gasp equalizer at Mainz on Saturday and are now hoping that the draw could kick-start a bit of a resurgence.

The other match on Sunday sees Mainz away to Cologne and although Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel will be without striker Adam Szalai and there are some doubts over forwards Andre Schuerrle and Marcel Risse, Tuchel is not too concerned.

The coach is confident that striker Sami Allagui will be able to do the job against Cologne. "His understanding has improved and he is able to withstand pressure much better. Sami suits us down to the T."

Bayern Munich, who gave away a two-goal lead at Cologne last weekend, are at home to Hoffenheim on Saturday. Bayern coach Louis van Gaal welcomes back Dutch international Arjen Robben, who missed the last game.

Robben and French international Franck Ribery are expected to start for the Bavarians and should give the team a much-needed boost.

In other matches Schalke are at home to SC Freiburg, while VfB Stuttgart, who occupy a relegation place, face Nuremberg. VfL Wolfsburg, who fired coach Steve McLaren on Monday, take on SV Hamburg.

Bottom-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach travel to Hamburg for their game against St Pauli, knowing that they need to start winning matches if they want to avoid relegation.

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